'I can't afford to live here': Oakland teachers strike in city changed by tech wealth

Thousands of Oakland public school teachers went on strike Thursday, calling for smaller class sizes, more resources, and better pay in a city where tech money has made it difficult for the vast majority of teachers to survive.

The Oakland Education Association – the union that represents teachers, librarians, counselors, and nurses serving 36,000 students in 87 schools – has been negotiating with the Oakland Unified school district (Ousd) for two years, said the union president, Keith Brown.

“Oakland teachers cannot afford to live in Oakland,” Brown said at a news conference announcing the strike. “One out of five leave each year. Five hundred classrooms are left with inexperienced teachers each year.

“Our students do not have adequate support – one nurse for every 750 students, one counselor for every 600 kids,” he continued. “OUSD schools are not failing. OUSD is failing our schools. OUSD is failing Oakland students.”

Adding to the usual pressures around contract negotiations is that much of the wealth that has flooded the region from the tech industry has caused the cost of living to soar. The high housing costs of San Francisco have overflowed into Oakland, where rental prices are among the fastest-rising in the US.

Meanwhile, Oakland teachers are paid the lowest salaries in the county, the union said. They range from $46,750 to $83,724 a year, according to the school district.

Cristopher Bautista, a first-year ninth grade English and history teacher at Oakland Technical high school, was among hundreds of picketers that packed the plaza in front of Oakland City Hall on Thursday, waving signs reading, “Keep Teachers in Oakland” and “Strike for the Schools that Students Deserve”.

Bautista wore a green Starbucks apron and carried sign that asked: “Why should I need a second job?”

Bautista says he works full-time during the week, and then weekends and holidays as a Starbucks barista to support himself and pay for classroom supplies.

“Oakland teachers in their first few years of teaching, they have to be creative to make ends meet,” he said. “I grade papers during my breaks. It’s exhausting.”

Bautista doesn’t live in Oakland, but commutes every day from Fremont, a suburb 26 miles away. “I can’t afford to live in Oakland,” he said. “If you want to be a teacher, you have to make sacrifices. It shouldn’t be that way, but that’s the way it is in the Bay Area.”

The Oakland teachers are seeking a 12% raise over three years. On Tuesday, the school district proposed a 7% raise over three years and a retroactive 1.5% bonus, a proposal that the union said “continues to fall short of reinvesting in our schools at the levels our students deserve”.

“OUSD remains committed to reaching a fair agreement that both honors our hard working employees and ensures quality service to our kids and families,” the school district said in a statement on its website.

Schools remained open while teachers striked, but classes werelimited.

At Bella Vista elementary school in Oakland, the usual morning traffic jam was less than a trickle, and the hallways were eerily quiet on Thursday.

“It seems like parents are keeping children home in support of the teachers,” said Kim Thai, a third-grade teacher who was helping to lead chants on the picket line.

For teachers like Thai, the strike was a necessary action. Just a few weeks ago, she said, the custodian told her that the school could no longer provide paper towels – a problem in an elementary school classroom.

The budget also fails to provide curriculum materials for special education students, said Carrie Bray, a resource specialist at Bella Vista who works with the school’s students with learning disabilities. An educator with 20 years experience, and a single mom with two children in Oakland schools, Bray said she was struggling to manage her $2,400-a-month rent on her $65,000-a-year salary.

“This is the Bay Area,” said Thai. “We’re underpaid compared to the other districts. Are we less valuable?”

A fair number of the picketers in downtown Oakland were students, striking in solidarity with their teachers.

“I love my teachers,” said Summer Meiguez, a 16-year-old sophomore at McClymonds high school. “I consider them my friends. They take time out of their day to help us after school. They want us to be successful.”

Meiguez and the other picketers understood that the teachers were on strike not just over contract negotiations, but to improve conditions for their students. Recent budget cuts meant school closures, larger class sizes, and fewer programs – Meiguez said there were more than 30 students in all her classes.

“It’s too much for my teacher,” she said. “You have talking students over here, students who need help over there. It’s hard for the teachers and hard for the students.”

The Oakland action is the latest to take place after teachers walked out in West Virginia last year, setting off a wave of strikes in Kentucky, Arizona, Washington state, and Oklahoma.

Last month, Los Angeles teachers went on strike for six days. Denver teachers ended their three-day action last week after reaching a deal for an 11% pay raise.

Negotiations in Oakland are expected to resume on Friday.